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Combating cancer, injury and disfigurement in the most socially important part of our bodies – the face and mouth

The face is the only part of our body we cannot hide. It conveys our emotions and innermost feelings. We often judge each other on the basis of facial appearance, making assumptions on a whole range of issues.

People suffer the consequences of facial diseases, injuries and disfigurement every day. In the United Kingdom 6,500 people develop oral cancer every year. Around 125,000 young people sustain serious facial injuries and 15,000 people receive treatment for facial disfigurement.

Despite the severity of these issues, this remains a much neglected research area leaving thousands of those unfortunate enough to be affected with little hope for the future. Not enough is known about facial disease, injury and deformity, their psychological and emotional impact and, critically, which treatments are most effective. Saving Faces - The Facial Surgery Research Foundation is the only charity in the UK solely dedicated to the worldwide reduction of facial injuries and diseases. We are taking the lead in education and research to improve the physical and psychological treatment of all victims of oral cancer and other facial diseases.

Thomas' story

Thomas was a 27 year old advertising executive who enjoyed scuba diving, mountain biking and flying kites.

His nasal tip was bitten off by a dog in 1998. Despite attempts to graft the separated piece of nose, skin, cartilage and mucosa, this did not take and he was left with a blackened nasal tip.

His first operation involved transferring skin from his forehead down to his nasal tip. It was then left joined to his forehead and connected to his nasal tip for three weeks until it had taken. After three weeks it was cross-clamped with a metal clamp for one hour to ensure that it had taken to the tissues at the nasal tip. This pedicled skin flap was then divided and the excess material discarded. At this same operation ear cartilage was used as scaffolding to rebuild the underlying architecture of the nose.

He has undergone two subsequent operations to thin the skin and he will have a further operation to build-up the nose slightly more and to thin the nostrils.